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ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN

80MB OF THB

WONDERS AND MYSTERIES

OP

MESMERISM,

BIOLOGY,

AND

CLAIRVOYANCE.

BY CAPTAIN HUDSON,

f OF LIVERPOOL,

♦

I Ptofenor of the Curative P&wen of Animal^Mdgnetum.

'' The factR you state, furnish an additional proof of the
practical utility and importance, as well as of the truth of Clair-
Toyance. It is, I thiuK, very discreditable to the intelligence of
this age, which is said to be enlightened, that facts are disbelieTed
when their causes cannot be explained/'

Earl Stanhope's Letter to Captain Hudton.

CHORLEY :

PRINTED BT OBO. HOUQBTON, STAMP-OFPICB.

MDCCCLII.

IIS2

i

1

*^

MESMERISM,

BIOLOGY, AND CLAIRVOYANCE.

3S=

"Tho' shadows, clouds and darkness/' round me rolli

And mortal fetters bind my daring soul.

Yet, will I seek the uncreated light.

To guide me through the ignorance of night ;

Prometheus like, attempt to grasp tlie ray

Of holy thought, in regions far away.

Ye Angels, guide me, to the sacred lore.

Which shall the world's lost primal health restore 1 "

Seven years practical experience in
some hundreds of cases connected with

the mysterious phenomena produced by
a variety of electric action, which has
been denominated Mesmerism, Biology,
or Animal Magnetism, has so convinced
me of its truth, its value, and its power,
that 1 am induced to write down a few
thoughts on this important subject, which
I have no doubt will become, in a cura-
tive point of view, one of the greatest
blessings ever sent by a Good Providence
to alleviate human suffering, prove the
existence of Guardian Angels, demon-
strate the immortality of the soul, and
soothe and bless us in this vale of tears !
And I have yet another inducement in
this attempt to unravel the mysteries that
yet surround this extraordinary subject,
by the frequent enquiries made in the
various places I visit as a " Mesmeric
Lecturer" for some plain work on this
science, which many of my hearers are
anxious to more particularly investigate.

Animal Magnetism has been since the
creation of the world, and has ever ex-
isted in nature ; but it is certainly due to
Frederick Anthony Mesmer, a Physician
in Germany, about the year 1750, that
this mysterious phenomena was first re-
duced into a system : — a keen observer of

nature, be noticed with deep interest the
varied operations of the human mind, and
after numerous experiments, he came to
the conclusion that ^'something** existed,
hitherto unexplained, which once under-
stood, must unravel many mysteries of
the operations of vitality. On first pro-
mulgating his doctrines, he was assailed
with the most bitter persecution and
malignity, and driven from city to city,
till the fear of starvation compelled him
to leave the German dominions for Paris,
where he fearlessly challenged the in-
vestigation of the new science ; gave his
theory of the causes of eflPects hitherto
unknown, which have not been better
explained by a century of investigation ;
and rendered himself, what the world
calls ^^ Immortal,*' by transmitting his
name to posterity !

We have many learned and expensive
works on this subject ; we have many
theories, full of words, which signify no-
thing, giving explanations in terms more
complex than the original idea, which
like the baseless fabric of a vision, vanish
in the light of some poor dictionary, and
leave no ray to guide us through the
shallows of doubt and of ignorance.

t)

A few plain thoughts, then, appear to
be wanted, but where Philosophers have
failed, I almost fear to tread, for "rock'd
on the high and giddy mast," nurtured
on the breast of the ocean waves, and
instructed with ^'a rope's end," in the
academical degrees of a British Seaman,
I cannot be expected to give a very
learned account of the wonders of the
deep, or very philosophically "sound"
the fathomless abyss, of the mysterious
solitudes of the Ocean-mind ; yet my
"log" of events may perchance throw ^
some light on the navigation of these un-
known depths, and induce some daring
adventurer laden with science to make
a voyage among these mysteries, and
open a new passage to the human mind.

A sailor must know where to steer be-
fore his '^anchor is weighed," and the
white sails are unfurled to the breeze.
He consults his chart, and guided by the
magic fingers of the Lode-star, his gal-
lant Bark " walks the waters like a thing
of life." But in a voyage of discovery
he must look within, even unto the spi-
rit-soul, and from its higher influences,
shape his course, and dare the dangers
of the unknown and of the invisible.

My destination is Mesmerism* My first
enquiry then, must be its bearings and
locality. My opinion is, that it is nearly
allied to the principle of life, and that
Electricity, Galvanism, and Magnetism
are only some of its induced, chemical,
or natural developments ; and with all
due reverence to that Almighty power
wlio formed the myriad worlds in the
boundless solitudes of space, and illumed
its darkness with the suns, and moons,
and stars of the vast Creation, I presume
to think that he gave a vitai principle to
the vast ocean in which they roll, from
which the blazing stars extract their
fires. Prtestlet drew the gaseous sup-
porter of life ^ Franklin, the lightning ;
the diamond its lustre ; existence its mo-
tion ; the tides their ebbing and flowing
power ; and our green earth its magic
display of seasons, and of days, and of
years. Health and disease also derive
their origin from this life-sea ; the calm
equilibrium of nature producing the one,
its irregular action the other. There is
but one health, one disease, and one
cure, — the equality, the inequality, and
the restoration of the equilibrium, which
can be, and has been, eflfiected by the
Mesmeric power of the human will.

8

Some Doctors of Medicine have hither-
to opposed the progress of this science.
I fearlessly assert that they have done
so from ignorance^ or from fear. If the
pulse beats beyond its natural number,
they reduce it ; if below, they try to raise
it ; and this is the substance of their know-
ledge ; when the equilibrium is restored
they say, '* we have performed a wonder-
ful cure ! " But when death ensues, then
something they call *' nature" must bear
the blame for the liberation of the wea-
ried spirit.

The purport of our voyage is Mes-
merism and its phenomena, but I look
in vain in the Gazeteer for its locality.
I am in some degree bewildered with a
thousand opposed opinions, and scarcely
know whose directions to follow or what
course to steer.

It is said by many Professors of Reli<-
gion, ^^ that it is an unholy voyage, and
that Satan is Commodore of the Squa-
dron ! " But one little word, will I think
upset the assertion ; — Mesmerism has
alleviated the greatest human sufferings,
and has been instrumental in various
ways through God's blessing of restoring

9

health and happiness, which can hardly
be attributed to any evil principle. Rivers
of blood have flowed in the Holy Wars.
But shall we reject religion because its
blessings have been abused, or refuse to
walk on the green and flowery turf un-
der which the earthquake may possibly
slumber ?

Some of the Doctors tell us that the
science is founded on imposition and ima-
gination, and that it is capable of pro-
ducing in'sanity ! So may the injudicious
use or excess of their most famed nos-
trums ; and if they choose to call it
imagination, it is probable that by that
power, many of their celebrated cures
are effected, and that imagination under
certain forms and conditions is another
word for mesmeric action, which cer-
tainly requires less credulity to believe,
than that imagination can give us such
boundless triumph over pain, as to ren-
der the animated body insensible to its
severest inflictions.

Let me then enquire what this Mes-
merism is, and give a humble opinion
deduced from some experience^ of its
nature, and the blessings and benefits

10

which it has given, and will give to the
human race, if '^Our Father which art in
Heaven/' assist the efforts of the human
will to perform his works of Mercy and
of Love.

In my voyages to the northern seas, I
have frequently seen the most magnifi-
cent cities arise from the bosom of the
deep, with their towers and spires of the
most brilliant colours, and the distant
mountains, so deeply, darkly, beautifully
blue, that I have imagined we were ap-
proaching to another world ; but a nearer
examination has dispelled the illusion,
and left but a few clouds, or a few ice-
bergs, glittering in the sun. So has the
theoretical Philosopher built up his tow-
ering impossibilities, which a few plain
facts have overthrown ; — each man has
his peculiar theory in accounting for the
unknown, and though my vague notions
may be like the rest but some vain ima-
ginings, I will try to say a few unlettered
words on Mesmerism and its effects which
may perhaps amuse the Philosopher by
unscientific arrangement, but cannot
destroy the science, or its truth and
beauty.

]1

Saint Paul says, that we are composed
of " body, soul, and spirit." This spirit,
I am induced to think is nearly connected
with the principle of life, and that it per-
vades all nature, through which thought
plays, and from which motion origi-
nates.

" Millions of spiritual creatures, ^ralk the earth,
Unseen, — both when we wake and when we sleep."

" To every form of being is assigned
An active principle : — howe'er removed
From sense and observation, it subsists
In all things, in all natures, in the stars
Of azure heaven, the unenduring clouds.
In flower and tree, in every pebbly stone
That paves the brooks, the stationary rocks.
The moving waters, and the unseeh air."

"All space teems with intelligences of
various orders and gradations ; there he
some of the AIR incredibly small and
exceedingly beautiful, bearing the human
form, and having a kind of insect life ;
they are a blessing or a curse to the
children of men : — obeying the Almighty

12

will, they sometimes die in cloudy milli-
ons, diffusing pestilence and death — or
spread abundance over the earth, or
blight its blossoms and rot its spring !''*

This life-sea, I imagine to be compo-
sed of " Monads," " the ultimate germs
of vitality," which, though inconceivably
minute, beyond the reach of human
thought, I fancy to be like small short
wires, each having two magnetic poles,
which, end to end, may form a magnetic
chain similar to the action of the load-
stone, which renders small pieces of iron
magnetic, and causes them to attract
each other.

These monads I imagine, principally
COMPOSE all animated beings, whirlings
in health, with all the joys of existence ;
in excitement, to the destruction of their
power ; in illness, slowly and sadly, la-
den with pain ; after the toils of the day,
end to end in refreshing and renovating
sleep ; and in the rigidity of death, hold-
ing the body in subjection till, by decom-
position, they are again launched into the

* " Spiritual Mesmerism," published at 48, Liverpool
Sta'eet, King's Cross, London, 1851.

13

^4ife-8ea," and the soul ascends from the
tenantless elaj, to another and a happier
world.*

> ■ • .

I"

By this theory, whether true or other-
wise, (but whose probability cannot be
disputed, and which may explain many
mysteries,) we may perhaps form some
idea of the phenomena of Mesmerism,
which philosophy has left in as great a
darkness as in its first discovery. We
may form some notion how the passes of
the Mesmerist can produce the magnetic
sleep, rigidity, and insensibility to pain
in the limbs of his patient. The motion
of the vital monad ceases, when the ad-
ditional fluid given by the Magnetiser,
renders them more than naturally mag-
netic ; when the attractive force of their
polar disks unite them and produce rigi-
dity, or sleep, or insensibility to pain by
paralizing the connecting links of that
telegraphic wire which sends such infor-
mation to the brain ; and even the brain
itself may be put to " sleep," and made
to act by another's magnetic will !

* For some of these ideas, I am indebted to a Friend
who has devoted considerable attention to the investi-
gation of these mysterious subjects.

B

14

Theory would hardly dare to assert
this, but a thousand facts familiar to the
Mesmeristf give proof beyond the dispute
of the Philosopher ; but fortunately this
temporary dream can be resisted by the
exerted will of the patient, and the s]>i-
ritual part of our being is beyond the
magnetic power. Assuming then, that
this theory, which could be corroborated
by a thousand facts, and rendered magni-
ficent by the subtlety of genius, is some
explanation of the primal force from
which the singular phases of mesmerism
are produced, I will proceed to describe
the usual process and its effects on those
who submit to the trial.

A few "passes'* with the hand over
the head, face and breast, is often suffi-
cient to produce the magnetic sleep,
which can be effected in a shorter or
longer space of time as the Mesmerist's
magnetic power shall exceed that of his
patient, or otherwise. A stedfast look
into the eyes, or ^*the will" on the sus-
ceptible, is often sufficient for this pur-
pose. A dreamy sensation, like a pleas-
ing mist encircles the brow, and an
impression like that of a soothing sleep
entrances the mind; the vital monads

15

are still, and as Woedsworth beautifully
observes, —

" Approach that blessed mood
To which the affections gently lead us on.
Until the breath of this corporeal frame.
And even the motion of our human blood
Almost suspended, we are laid asleep
In body, and become a living soul :
While, with an eye made quiet by the power
Of magic harmony, and mystic joy,.
We see into the depths of things unknown."

Mesmerists speak of electric atmos-
pheres which surround all bodies, like
the emanations of the fragrance of the
rose, and that by the incorporation of
these atmospheres, infection is produced,
and the common coincidence of suddenly
thinking of a person who immediately
after will appear, is explained ; but when
we come to what we sometimes call the
instinct of the camel, that seems to scent
the water in the desert for more than
twenty miles, this electric atmosphere
is extended beyond our comprehension,
while the boundless links of the " Ani-

16

mated Life-Sea" become the railroads
of thought, beyond the regions of the
morning star ! And in the higher states
of mesmerism, the spirit may then be
made to respond to the questions of
mortality. This liberation of the spirit is
Clairvoyance, and thus were its powers
described by a young gentleman, in what
I would call the third state of this scio-
mantic existence,

^^ I know that I am mesmerized, and
think my peculiar state is caused by an
overcharge of Electricity . I use this word
because I know of no other to express
my feelings, or any thing that approaches
so nearly to the nature of the electric
fluid ; but the mesmeric fluid is finer and
more subtile, and partakes more of the
nature of life. It is diffused throughout
all space and flows in the air, from which
the human body imbibes, and like a ma*
chine refines it, till it has an afiinity with
the mind, and there it becomes a link
between our earthly and spiritual exist-
ence, there is nothing of thought or
affections in it when two bodies act one
upon the other ; it is but an agent, under
mental control, an emanation from na-
ture approachitig nearly to the principle

17

of life. The will has power to remove
the obstacles from mental vision, and to
rend or split this fluid tx) any distance, so
that the thoughts of distant minds can be
distinctly read. The Clairvoyant cannot
see inanimate objects, it is the pictures
of them only, which are traced on other
minds, with whom they communicate.
Tiike sees like. With the rapidity of
thought the Clairvoyant flits from mind
to mind, zig-zag, and over, and under,
and through, and above, and below, and
in all directions, to all the connecting
links in the chain of enquiry, and with
the same rapidity sums up the result and
gives the opinion. The past is as palpa-
ble as the present, for matter is indes-
tructible^ and thought has form ; and all
the shadows that ever were on the soul,
yet exist) and can be again rendered
palpable by the powers of the mind/'

Another, on being questioned in
"Manx," a language of which he had no
knowledge when awake, readily ans-
wered the questions put to him, and on
great surprise being expressed how he
could do so, he made light of the circum-
stance, and thus, most philosophically
gave us the explanation.

18

^^ I see the thought, no matter in what
language it may be expressed. Language
is but the dress, form, or fashion of the
thought ; clothe it in Greek or Hebrew
the thought is still there, which I can see,
or read, no matter how it may be dis-
guised by the symbols of any language !'*
But beyond these thoughts, there be
higher and holier mysteries more beauti-
ful than ever entered into mortal dreams,
which can only be seen by the philoso-
phic spirit, and only be elicited from the
Good and Pure !

Dreams, " the wild romance of life,'*
are probably the liberation of some
sleepless monad, mingling in its life-sea,
and returning with those fantastic im-
pressions which may be traced, or may
form some communication with the cen-
tral monad of the brain where the soul-
spirit probably sits, to record our trans-
gressions with tears, or in our efforts to
obey the laws of God, suffuses our being
with more than mortal joy.

The description of distant countries
which the mesmerist has never visited^
may be referred to the same principle,
the liberation of some portion of this ani-

I

I

19

mated mass which forms an instant chain
to distant climes; and the visions arise
from the uttermost parts of the earth
more rapidly than the flashes of the solar
ray, and pour the information on the
brain, for there is now no doubt that such
communications can be made, and the
loved, the lost, the distant, and the dead,
be palpably brought before the inner-eyes
of those who are placed in the " trance-
sphere" by mesmeric power. Among
hundreds of facts I give one illustration,
to show the value of this knowledge.

On unloading the ship ^* Theodore" at
Liverpool from New Orleans, there were
fifteen bales of cotton deficient in the
cargo, for which bills of lading had been
signed, and a demand was made on the
captain for their value. He tried every
means to ascertain how the loss had oc-
curred, but could gain no information,
till he consulted one of my Clairvoy-
ants on the subject, who immediately
went back into the shadows of the past,
saw the vessel loading at New Orleans,
described a vessel next the quay three
berths distance of the " Theodore,** and
saw the fifteen bales by some mistake put
into the hold of this vessel, (the ** Poto-

20

mic/' Capt. Rich,) instead of the one for
which they were intended, and then fol-
lowed the vessel to her destination. The
Clairvoyant in the waking state possessed
no geographical knowledge, and some
difficulty occurred in finding the port to
which ' this vessel had proceeded ; the
principal maritime places in England
were named and examined, but she could
not see the vision of what she sought,
when, running down the coast of France
on this spirit-chase, she descried the
missing ship ^t Havre de Grasse. Act-
ing on such information, the Captain
immediately wrote thither, and to his
delight and astonishment received an
immediate reply that the facts were as
the Clairvoyant had stated, and that the
fifteen bales of cotton had been sold *•' for
the benefit of those whom it might con-
cern," and this amount he received and
paid over to the owners of the cotton,
which, but for this mesmeric information,
would have been to him a most ruinous
loss. This fact the Captain thus acknow-
ledges in a letter addressed to me, and
dated the 26th of September, 1850.

Dear Sir,

You will probably remember

21

my calling upon you a few days since to
consult your Clairvoyant in reference to
fifteen bales of cotton short, delivered
from the ship ^^ Theodore,'* under my
command, now in this port (Liverpool)
from New Orleans.

JVIy object in writing is to inform you,
that through the information received
(which I have since proved to be per-
fectly correct) 1 have discovered the
missing bales discharged by another
ship in Havre, (France) sold there, and
the proceeds remitted to me, by which
I have been saved about two hundred
pounds, which I should have been obliged
to pay if the cotton had not been disco-
vered through your Clairvoyant.

So much being said against Mesmer-
ism induces me to acknowledge, that at
least, in this instance, it has been of
great benefit to me.

I am, Sir, your's respectfully,

"JOHN MORTON.

»»

I could adduce hundreds of facts con-
nected with lost and stolen property, but

22

the limits of this small work hurry me
on to the consideration of other singular
developments, many of which are enu-
merated in the following clever extract
from the "Preston Guardian,*' which
gives an epitome of results, and which I
shall try to separately explain and con-
sider.

"Captain Hudson, of Liverpool, has
just been astonishing and delighting the
people around us with several lectures
on Mesmerism, Animal-Magnetism, and
Biology. The experiments on Animal-
Magnetism, were truly wonderful. By
passes made with the hand, one person
after another was drawn across the
room, completely against their will, some
seemed determined not to move, but once
under the influence, go they must.

Captain Hudson is apparently a man of
great physical strength, and must pos-
sess an herculean magnetic power, and it
is probably owing to this circumstance,
that the astonishing success of his expe-
riments may be attributed ; at one time
he drew five persons from their seats,
and then, walking round the stage seve-
ral times, he drew some after him, and

23

drove others before him, without ooming
in contact with any. It is worthy of re-
mark, that the persons experimented
upon were residents in the neighbour-
hood, and one who bore the most promi-
nent part, was a young gentleman, known
to almost every one of the audience, and
who never had spoken to the lecturer
before coming into the room. Collusion
in these cases was impossible, nor could
the idea be for a moment entertained by
any one possessing ordinary powers of
reflection, or who had given to the sub-
ject the slightest consideration.

In phreno-mesmerism the classic atti-
tudes exhibited by the mesmerized under
the power of music, was truly beautiful.
Devotion, hope, and pity,' might be read
in the countenances and positions of the
living statues, while some were deprived
of hearing, taste, smell, and sight, which
were as rapidly restored, and amply de-
monstrated by the most convincing ex.
periments.

But perhaps, the most extraordinary
results were those produced by Biology.
The individuals appeared to be wide-
awake, but notwithstanding, were com-

24

pletely controlled by the operator. The
process employed was simply by touching
the lower part of the forehead with the
thumb, when unlimited power was at
once obtained, and the Biologized were
then made to believe in the greatest ab-
surdities. One individual addressed a
speech to the Electors of the Burgh of
Blackburn, supposing himself a candi-
date for Iheir suffrages ; said, " he would
be whig, tory, or radical," according to
their pleasure, and that if they would
honour him, by returning him to parlia^
ment, he would vote any way they liked,
and promise anything.

The Captain then willed the stage to
become the wide ocean, and four persons
sat down upon it, as though they were in
an imaginary boat, and put to sea, rowing
with all their might; the sea became tem-
pestuous^ and the landsmen felt all the
horrors of sickness, — ^the waves rolled
mountains high, and the poor wretches
became impressed with the dreadful idea
that shipwreck was inevitable, and des-
pair was powerfully depicted on every
countenance ; the boat was upset, and
they began to swim for their lives, grasp-
ing the chair and table legs as if they

25

were some portions of a rocky shore !
In the midst of this heart-rending scene,
by the extraordinary influence of the
operator, they were suddenly awoke, and
the vacant stare that succeeded, coupled
with their absurd position, baffles all de-
scription.

On another evening, three other per-
sons, strangers to the lecturer, who were
forced to him by magnetic power, were
placed in a line, and apparently awake,
were impressed with the idea that they
formed a railway train ! The motion of
the engine cranks, the shrill whistle, the
puffing of the steam, even the slipping of
the wheels upon the rail, were given
with the greatest adherence to truth.
The most earnest gravity of countenance
was maintained as the train continued to
to increase in speed, until it attained a
frightful velocity, when a most ludicu-
rous scene occurred ; one of the carriages
slipped off the line, and lay there kicking
up its heels in a state of the greatest
excitement ; amidst the most uproarious
laughter, the prostrate carriage was once
more restored to its equilibrium, and the
train proceeded until the magnetiser pre-
scribed the end of the journey.

26

At Over-Darwen, a young lady who ac-
companied the lecturer, on being thrown
into the magnetic sleep, read both wri*
ting and print with her eyes perfectly
bandaged ! Several well-known gentle-
men, at the invitation of the lecturer,
closely examined these bandages, and
expressed their unanimous opinion, that
it was impossible she could see by ordi-
nary vision. We were present at some
private experiments, which took place
before a select party at the house of a
gentleman in Over-Darwen, where an
opportunity of putting the severest tests
was afforded, and the whole party were
thoroughly convinced of the bona fide
character of the experiments ; after which
the worthy host and his daughter were
thrown for the first time into the mag-
netic sleep ; at the request of the opera-
tor the young lady presided at the piano,
while her father, under the influence of
" tune" accompanied her, and sung '^ Te
Deum," and some of Handel's recita-
tives, with a precision truly astonishing ;
both of the musicians being in the som-
nambulistic state, and quite unconscious
of their actions.

We have no hesitation in saying from

27

our own knowledge, that the phenomena
exhibited were real, and this is the deli-
berate conviction of numbers, who, like
ourselves, were very sceptical indeed on
many of these points before ; and if, as is
asserted, this new science can be made
available for the benefit of our race, we
heartily wish Captain Hudson success in
his earnest endeavours to convince man-
kind of the truths he so ably proves* We
believe he possesses a benevolent and
philanthrophic mind, and that he is both
mentally and physically calculated to en-
force the astonishing truths he so ably
demonstrates/'

There is an inherent propensity in hu-
man nature to make personal knowledge
the measure of Truth, which mav be
illustrated by the story of the old woman
whose son, returning from foreign parts,
related to her the wonders he had seen.
He spoke of flying fish, and of burning
mountains, but the cautious mother (just
like the self-conceited and sceptical
world,) cried out, ^*No, no. Jack I I know
what travellers' tales are I That I'll
never believe !'-' At last, after many sim-
ilar truths rejected, the sailor, in des-
pair, hatched a lie, and said, ^^ In Ja-

28

maica I saw sugar loaves growing on
trees, and rivers running spank into the
sea, full of rum !" " Ay, ay, Jack,*' ex-
claimed the wise old woman, ^^now you
speak sense ; that there I can well be-
lieve, for 1 know that rum and sugar
come from Jamaica !" So do the wise
old women of the world reject Mesmer-
ism, because it does not accord with
their previous experience ; and yet there
be many, perchance, with some rum and
sugar *' in their eye," that affect to be-
lieve things more positively absurd, and
more absolutely ridiculous.

The powers which I now try to inves-
tigate are the most occult in nature ; but,
wonderful and complex as is the exter-
nal mechanism of the senses, their prin-
ciple is one. The frequent uncertainty
in any part of a nerve to excite similar
sensations is evinced in the difficulty
often experienced even in referring pain
to the real seat of the disorder which
occasions it ; for a sound tooth has fre-
quently been extracted by the direction
of the patient, instead of the defective
one which had been the cause of so much
torment.

29

So much for the received opinions re-
specting the nerves and their communi-
cations. "The great source of error
respecting vision, and the apparent im-
possibility of seeing M^ithout the natural
eye, is some venerable delusion respect-
ing what is called the optic nerve;" there
may be an adaption in the structure and
arrangement of the vital monads for such
a purpose, but when the visual monads
are magnetically paralized, sight may be,
has been transmitted to other parts of
the body. The connexion beetween see^
ing9 and the pictures represented on the
retina, has never been proved. We be-
hold external objects, and we have heard
that such objects are represented on the
retina, and say, ^^ here is cause and
effect ;" but it is not the retina that sees,
it is the motion of the monads that form
it that convey the idea to the central
point or sensorium of the brain, for the
sensations of the five senses can be im-
pressed on any part of the body in the
mesmeric state, as upon those organs,
which, in a natural state are appropriated
to their distinct purposes, or be appa-
rently destroyed and again restored !

From these strange facts we may, I

30

think, reasonably infer that those who
by some irregularity in the action of
the living monads, which constitute the
adapted organs of sight, sound, feeling,
taste and smell, have lost some of these
sensations, may, by mesmeric treatment,
under God's blessing, be again restored
to their delightful communications with
the outward world.

In that dreadful infliction the ^^ locked
jaw," I have more than once been fortu-
nate enough to set the sufferer free ; to
which idea I was fortunately led by an
experiment I have frequently tried with
my patients, to lock their jaws, with the
mouth open or shut, ^^ asleep " or awake,
which I could instantly unlock, and re-
store to their natural state.

It is a difficult thing to comprehend
these mysteries, and more particularly
the ^* internal-vision," the " innerJight,"
according to the old formulas of exist-
ence. But let those who deny it or think
of the impossibility, place a half-crown
or other piece of silver betwiien the up-
per lip and the teeth and put a piece of
zinc on the tongue ; on bringing these in
contact, a flash of light may be seen in

31

a dark room, and the eyes perfectljr
closed, but which is invisible to the eyes
of others who may watch the phenomena,
and because they are not convinced,
deny its existence. But this little fact
assuredly proves another vision beyond
the organs of what we call sight.

I am perfectly convinced that some
mesmerized persons can distinctly see to
read any book from various parts of the
body, and without the possibUity of using
the natural eye, which maybe bandaged
in the most careful manner^

I have convinced thousands of this
extraordinary fact, and yet some very
wise people, who are determined not to
believe anything beyond their shallow
comprehensions, have their doubts ; but
in some of the higher states the eye ap-
appears to see through any substance !
I could adduce many instances of this
fact, and give one related on the highest
authority, which occurred in London on
the 6th of August, 1850.

Major Buckley, a gentleman residing
in old Bond-street, had frequently placed
two ladies, his friends, in the Clairvoyant

32

state, who possessed extraordinary pow-
ers of vision ; to test these powers, Lord
Stanhope bought twelve '^ motto nuts "
at different shops in the Strand, in which
were a variety of poetic distich s of which
he had no knowledge, such as —

"I never said t'was possible, or new,
I only sai(l» the thing was true ! "

The motto nuts on being presented to
the ladies, were accurately read, and on
breaking these nuts, to the astonishment
of a number of friends who were present,
the twelve mottos were found to be ex-
actly as they had stated.

In others, such as the one I had in my
employ, the point of vision appears to be
in some particular part of the head, and
any interposed obstacle, naturally pre-
vents them from seeing what is pre-
sented ; these points and their varieties
are worthy of our consideration before
we condemn a great truth, because we
fancy we have detected some trifling
error, which self-conceit nourishes, if it
be in accordance with bigoted or precon-
ceived opinions.

33

It has been eloquently observed by the
Rev. J. B, Doos, that ^^ it is not those
translucent orbs, the eyes that see, it is
the inward spirit that looks out through
those windows of the soul !''

Let those who dispute this ^^ inner-
light,'' go into a dark room, and knock
their heads violently against the wall,
and they will see it drawn out by the
concussion, even through their thick and
opaque skulls. What wonder then, that
other dense substances can be penetra-
ted by it ?

" Biology," or " the Electric science
of life," which some American lecturers
have brought out as a new discovery, a
science distinct from mesmerism, and
professed to be produced by metallic
discs of zinc and copper, is nothing but
the magnetic effects of mesmeric will,
produced on the fantasy of susceptible
persons fvhen apparently awake, and
whic;h I have occasionally practised for
many years, before the name of the new
science was invented. My process has
been to strongly niagnetize the under-
monads of the brain ; the ends of the
*• electric wires " which look out from the

34

eye and tell the legs to run from danger ;
this naturally produces a magnetic power
of less intensity on the brain, which 1 can
then direct at will, and render any part
active by mesmeric thought strongly
concentrated.

i\ssuredly, a fearful knowledge^ but
there must be an active and a passive
agent, and fortunately few are possessed
of the weakness or the power. I must
confess that I have been sometimes
almost terrified at the results of my ex-
periments, when the improbable fictions
related in the " Arabian nights" have as-
sumed a tangible form, and the natural
sorceries — the wild witcheries of former
times, for which many a poor mesmerist
has suffered death, have startled ine with
their strange reality I

Among other curious and incredible
relatione, in an old book I met with some
time ago, published in 1664, there is a
story told of a famous magician, who
was requested by a few friends to give
them a specimen of his art.

To their astonishment, a magnificent
vine sprung up before them^ laden with

«5

delicious grapes, which having suffi--
ciently admired, they felt anxious to
taste. The magician directed them each
to take hold of a bunch, and gave each
man a knife, with strict orders, not to
cut till he told them. Suddenly, the
vine vanished, and to their great aston-
ishment, each man had hold of his ncigh-
bour s nose, which he no doubt would
have cut off if the illusion had continued!
Doubtless, this was Biology.

In some lectures I recently gave in
Liverpool, a rather singular incident oc-
curred connected with this subject which
is probably worth recording.

A lady who sat in the front seats, and
who was highly interested with the vari-
ous experiments^ saw, as she imagined,
a new patient come on the platform,
whose form and features were strikingly
familiar to her, and not only those, but
every portion of her dress, but she could
not possibly recollect who it could be ;
when suddenly, she discovered that it
was an exact image of herself ! Aston-
ished beyond measure at this *^ double,"
the lady rushed out of the Concert Hall
into the street, w^here she was immedi-

36

ately followed by her husband, who of
course, had seen nothing, and was natu-
rally astonished at his wife's singular
behaviour !

This phantom was no doubt produced
by some mysterious Biological effect,
which in all probability proceeded from
some emanation of a vital link, beyond
the chain of my purposed power.

In the mesmeric trance, I consider
that the monads by induced additional
magnetism, are attracted disc to disc,
and thus rendered rigid and inactive.

I touch the phrenological organ of
*^ veneration,'' and its composite monads
are restored to activity, and my patient
has the impression of some holy thought,
of imitation, and he will probably give
the prayer of some Clergyman he has
heard, in many cases so perfectly that
the style is instantly known. A wave of
the hand, and these excited monads are
again still ; and insensible to every sur-
rounding object, the patient calmly sleeps
in utter forgetfulness of the whole world.

Surely, as the Rev. George Sandby

37

says, in a beautiful work on this subject,
" Mesmerism is the gift of God/*

Let us suppose u most painful surgical
operation, say the amputation of an arm ;
natute recoils with terror at the knife
and saw, and the agony of suffering. A
few mesmeric passes, and that arm be-
comes rigid ; a few more, and the com-
munication with the brain is stayed, and
the arm may then be cut off without pain,
almost without the patient's knowledge.

That mysterious state in which some
animals remain for a considerable period,
and which Philosophers explain by the
word ^^ dormant," might perhaps be bet-
ter understood by the word ^* mesmeric,*'
and probably the well-known fact in natu-
ral history, of the retirement of the crab
and lobster into some deep recess of the
rocks, after losing their legs or claws,
by war or accident, and there, in dark-
ness and quiescence waiting till the lost
limb grows on again, might be referred
to mesmeric power.

I am no charlatan, nor do I wish to
ostentatiously display the benefits I have
been instrumentid, under God's bles-

D

^ .-^^

38

$]ng of giving ; I am a straight-forwanl
£nglisbman with few pretensions, few
desires beyond the anxiety to do good
and live. I have suffered much obloquy
and reproach in my investigation of this
subject, but 1 know the purity of its
source, the benefits which our race may
derive from a more perfect knowledge
of its mysteries, and seek to spread such
knowledge as I possess^ that others with
higher powers may be able to more
widely extend the blessings and the be-
nefits which can by this means be difi^u-
sed among the suffering or the doubtful
chihlren of men.

In the cure of head-aches, contrac-
tions, tic-doloreux, tooth ache, debility,
paralysis, &c. I have frequently been
very successful ; from hundreds of cases,
I select two or three, which may give
give some idea of mesmeric benefit.

Halifax, January 1st, 1851.

To Captain H. Hudson,

5, Chesterfield-street,

Liverpool.
Dear Sir,

I have much pleasure in bear-

39

ing testimony to the beneficial effects
of Mesmerism, having experienced tiie
greatest relief in two different eases.

For several years previous to my see-
ing you I was afflicted with a violent pain
in the head, caused by inflammation. AH
the remedies from which I sought relief
failed, until it was my good fortune to
try the efficacy of Mesmerism, by which
you succeeded in removing the inflamma-
tion, and in a few days I was perfectly
cured, and have never suffered from the
pain in the head since. I had forgotten
to state that this was about two years
since* A short time afterwards I partly
lost the use of my right hand by an acci-
dent, which caused a contraction of the
sinews, and rendered it painful to use my
hand for the slightest purpose. After
eighteen months trial of medical treat-
ment, without any beneficial effect, I
again applied to you, and in a few min-
utes from the time you commenced to
magnetise it I was enabled to open it
without the slightest pain, and have used
it with ease and comfort ever since.

Believing that Mesmerism or Animal-
magnetism (so beneficial in my case,)

40

would in many cases be productive of
much good, it would give me pleasure
to hear of many others deriving ease by
it from the sufferings incident to our
common humanity.

Thanking a kind Providence for the
boon, and yourself as the instrument of
my singular cure,

I am, dear Sir, yours, very truly,

J. E. DEAN.

Dear Sir,

Having accompanied the above-
mentioned lady, who is my sister, to
your house, and witnessed the cure in
the latter case, I have much pleasure in
confirming her statement and expressing
my confidence in Mesmerism as a cura-
tive agent.

Your's truly,

J. W. DEAN,

Music Preceptor,
Dewsbury.

I must confess that I am not suffi-
ciently learned to follow the Anatomist
through the various phases of disease, or
the Philosopher in his investigations on
the causes of insanity, but I believe that

41

Mesmerism is a power, if properly ap-
plied, that would restore reason to the
mind.

Madness has its peculiar features, and
each sufferer a distinct infliction ; this
no doubt arises from the unnatural acti-
vity of those monads that constitute the
magnetic wires; that tell the spirit of love,
of avarice, of revenge, or other excited
passions of the human mind. Magnetic
power could paralize these thoughts, and
restore the natural equilibrium.

Some time ago, a lady in Liverpool,
with whom I was acquainted, had the
misfortune from a severe fever, to be-
come insane, and was sent to the asylum.
I visited her there, but she did not know
me ; but after a few ^^ passes '* and $k
strongly concentrated " will," her reason
returned ; she called me by name, beg-
ged to know, how those that were dear
to her were, and cried bitterly at the
situation in which she found herself.
Her improvement was rapid. She was
restored to her husband and family^ and
has since that period, been quite well,
never having had any return of this
dreadful malady. One circumstance is

42

perhaps worthy of remark, that neither
the matron of the asylum, nor her friends,
were aware of my experiment, till she
eame out, restored to the blessings of
reason.

Paralysis, with all its miserable train,
I also refer to the irregularity or want
of monadie action. Among many other
illustrations of mesmeric force, I re-
cently met with a AIr. Barber from
Yorkshire, at Blackpool, where he had
come for the benefit of his health, having
been ill for eijj^hteen weeks with a para-
lytic stroke, from which he had nearly
lost the use of his left arm, which was so
much affected that he could not lift it to
his head or put on his hat for that length
of time. I placed him in the magnetic
sleep, and afterwards magnetized him
when awake, and then told him to put
his hat upon his head, but he objected,
saying, *' I cannot possibly do it ;" after
some time I persuaded him to try, when
to his astonishment, and that of a number
of ladies and gentlemen who were pre-
sent, he took up his hat^ in the afflicted
hand, and put it upon his head ; quite
overcome^ he said " This is indeed won-
derful, I have not been able to do so for

'' 43

eighteen weeks !'* When he left the
house, he repeatedly took off his hat and
put it on in the streets as if to make sure
that the thing was real ; next morning he
ealled upon me, and told me he M^as ahle
to tie his handkerchief, and expressed
the greatest delight on being liberated
from the dark fetters of this living death !

Some five years ago, I saw a poor girl
in the street, (Elizabeih Harvey,) a
cripple, who moved with the greatest
pain, even unto tears, from a curvature
in her spine, and a distressing contract
tion in her leg and foot ; I called at the
house where she lived with her mother,
a poor old woman, who informed me
that her daughter had been so afflicted
for many months, and that she had not
received any benefit from the medical
treatment to which she had been sub-
jected^ and from which they had aban-
doned all hopes of relief; and it was with
the greatest difficulty that 1 could per-
suade them to try the effects of Mesmer-
ism. Having obtained this permission,
in a few minutes I put her into the mag-
netic sleep, and continuing the ^^passes'*
over the afflicted parts for some time I
put one hand on the knee of the con-

44

tracted leg, and the other on the heel,
and drew it out straight, without pain ;
and on touching the organ of ^^ self-es-
teem'' she immediately rose upright, and
walked across the room, without a symp-
tom of her maimed state ! The mother
in her astonishment, ran into the street ;
but soon after, the young woman's sister,
and one of the neighbours, came to the
door, but when they saw the poor lame
girl, marching about the room, quite
well, they hardly durst venture in, and
looked at me with great suspicion, par-
ticularly my feet, but when i lifted them
both up, and they saw, that they were
all right and not ornamented with a. club,
one of them cried out in her astonish-
ment, " Father ! have merey upon us !
you surely must be a good man, sent
from Heaven I" Probably thinking, that
this sudden cure could not be effected by
any one belonging to the Earth. In one
week she was able to stand all day to
assist her mother in washing, (by which
they lived) and was quite well.

I have heard some ignorant people say,
that Mesmerism might possibly relieve
for a time and that the malady would
then return with greater violence. I

45

never knew an instance of it, and in the
case I have just related, I got this young
woman a situation with a friend of mine
near Newcastle, where she remained ele^
ven months, and returned to Liverpool
on her mother s death, to keep her fa-
ther's house, where she still continues
without any return of the affliction.

That the deaf and dumb should be re-
stored to hearing and to speech by mes-
merism, may seem to those who are
unacquainted with the subject, as some-
thing beyond the bounds of credibility ;
but such things have been done !

Whilst giving a lecture on this science
at Foxhill Bank, near Accrington, in
Lancashire, (September 10th, 1851,) a
child named Mary Dixon, six years of
age, was brought to me to try the pow-
ers of magnetism upon her ; she, being
both deaf and dumb, f soon succeeded
in putting her into the " sleep,*' in which
she remained about an hour ; I then
awoke her, and put her in again, making
repeated " passes " over her ears, till
I found that hearing was partially
restored ; I then directed her to say
'* Mary '* which she distinctly repeated.

46

and then " Henry *' with similar success.
I then said ^^Accrington," which she at-
tempted to imitate ; but this hard word
she could not distinctly articulate. Since
that time I am informed that she has
again spoken, and T have no doubt by a
perseverance in Mesmerism, that the
blessings of hearing and of speech may
be perfectly restored ! A number of la-
dies and gentlemen, and her parents,
were ])resent, who were astonished and
delighted to see the process, and to hear,
from her hitherto silent tongue, its first
word.

" Every good gift is from above," and
Saint Paul hath said in his first epistle
to the Corinthians, (Chap. xii. 1st verse)
" That there are diversities of gifts, but
the same Spirit, and diversities of ope-
rations, but the same Lord,'* and that
this Spirit is given, to every man to do
good. '* To one the Spirit of Wisdom, to
another Knowledge, to another the gift
of Healing, to another Prophecy, to ano-
ther the discovery of Spirits, and to ano-
ther the interpretation of tongues, but
all these work from the same Spirit,"
even the Almighty Father of Heaven and
Earth ! To whom be all honour and all
glory, and all reverence !

47

I now come to the con$ideratioD of the
higher states of Mesmerism. The pre-
sentiments of the future, the- mystical
visions of the shadows of events to come,
the prophetic gift of reading the book of
destiny.

I have seen the fulfilment of many
predictions, which would hardly obtain
credence with those ignorant of the sub-
ject ; the arrival of vessels at stated pe-
riods, the marriages of those who were
then unknown to each other, and deaths
at a particular period, which had been
predicted for some considerable time I
These may seem extraordinary asser-
tions, but they are facts; but these facts
require the greatest care to elicit, and
some calm purity of mind, in the mes-
merist and the magnetised ; for imagina-
tion, or self-conceited knowledge, will
sometimes mingle with it ; and when a
patient is urged too much to speak of
things .which appear dark to them, in
their self-esteem, under this urgency,
they will frequently speak beyond their
vision.

The apparent failure in one of my Clair-
voyant's predictions respecting the return

48

of Sir John Franklin has been a grand
lever in the hands of little men to use
their puny efforts to upset the whole sci-
ence^ a small leak from which they have
tried their utmost to sink the gallant
ship, and all her cargo ! Almost at the
6a7ne period when these enquiries were
made by me, respecting the fleet in the
frozen seas, a similar description of their
position and pritmtions was given by a
young lady in Calcutta, (related in the
"Bombay Times,") a Clairvoyant at New
York, one at Bolton, one at Nottingham,
and one near Hamburgh of which I have
a long German letter addressed to me
by Dr. Du Hantzky who conducted the
experiments, and who was astonished to
read within a few days, an exactly simi-
lar narrative in the Vienna newspaper,
translated from the "Liverpool Mer-
cury." I have no doubt, from the won-
ders I have seen and known that these
statements were THEN occurring facts.

The non-fulfilment of one important
point has now to be considered. In the
first place / did not send the prediction
of Captain Franklin's return for publi-
cation ; in the next my patient was urged,
probably beyond her powers to give some

I'-
f.

* .

49

precise time for the return of the missing
ships, which she might have answered,
beyond her vision, from such urgency,
and the natural vanity of which 1 have
spoken. Errors, failures, and false con-
clusions, are so common to the greatest
professors in law, physic and divinity;
in chemistry, mechanics, and other bran-
ches of acknowledged science, that I
tliink, under the extraordinary circum-
stances of this case, some trifling allow-
ance ought to be made for an error,
trifling in itself, yet certainly involving,
from its apparent failure, some doubt on
the main result of these enquiries. My
Clairvoyant's statement ti^a^ — ^'That, Sir
John Franklin, would return in one of
his ships from the Frozen Seas in Sep-
tember." "The Prince Albert" one of
the ships sent out to search for him did,
uneoopectedly return from these regions in
September J and the probability may be,
that this ship she saw returning, might
be the one which her Mesmeric trance
presented ; and strongly connected as it
was with the expedition, her urged ima-
gination might have added the "care-
worn, anxious-looking man" (whom she
described as returning in that vessel) as
the Commander of the Expedition which

50

may yet be floating on that desolate
ocean, surrounded by the regions of
darkness and of silence !

It is now nearly one hundred years
since JMesmer presented to the world his
observations and discoveries on the sci-
ence that bears his name ; and six and
thirty years have passed away since he
descended, unhonoured, to the peaceful
grave.

The wise men of that day reviled and
ridiculed the science, and his exertions
for the benefit of mankind ; but he still
persevered in spreading the great Truths
and then declared that he knewy '^ that
befqre the year 1852, the world would
be convinced of the genuineness of his
pretensions !'* That year is now at hand,
and doubtless, the ^^ Prophecy'' is coming
true ; for men of science and celebrity in
the world have begun to sail on those
unknown seas ; and have found, that the
new worlds, which the poor old Mesmer-
ists were laughed at for discovering, are
not moonshine, but realities. A revolu-
tion of opinion is almost accomplished,
and Mesmer, no longer vilified as an im-
postor, is about to win his long-deferred
laurels.

k

5]

With all humility — with every beau-
tiful desire to do some good during my
short existence, I launch this little book,
this half-rigged skiff, upon the waters,
and wait, and hope that it may return to
me again, laden with fruits and flowers ;
and conclude with the borrowed reflex
of my thoughts in the words of the Rbv.
C. H. TowNSHEND, of Cambridge, in his
^^ Facts on Mesmerism.'

99

** In proportion as we value life, and
health, or whatever tends to happily
bridge our way across the gulph of
Death ; whatever tends to carry on a
train of old familiar thought into the un-
known void, let us esteem» cherish, and
reverence this cheering manifestation of
our Being, which so beautifully exhibits a
pre-existent harmony between our hopes
and their accomplishment.

That the IVlesmeric medium should link
science to science is comparatively but a
trifling benefit. That it should connect
this world with a future^ is its last and
greatest ser\dce."

** Whatever the Eastern Magi sought.
Or Orpheus sung, or Hermes taught,

52

Whate'er Confucius would inspire.
The Zoroastic's mystic fire —
The symbol that Pythag'ras drew.
The wisdom " God-like Plato '* knew ;
The dying smiles of Socrates,
The Swed'borg's Spirit- mysteries.
The sacred :fire of Saint and Sage,
In every clime, in every age
Shall yet in cirbling light expand
By Mesmer-rite, and Nature's wand,
'Till the 'rapt soul in Life, shall see.
Its glorious Immortality !"

HOUGHTON^ PRINTER, CIIORLBT.

^^

^j

^i